Office of the Commissioner and his own union,

Office of the Commissioner and his own union,

INDIANAPOLIS -- Josef Newgarden has informed Ed Carpenter he will not return to the IndyCar team next season.Ed Carpenter Racing announced Newgardens decision on Thursday. The American driver is thought to be highly coveted by Team Penske, which has been in limbo over the status of former Indianapolis 500 winner Juan Pablo Montoya. It could lead to a seat swap, with Newgarden going to Penske and Montoya moving to ECR.ECR said only that it is evaluating all options for next seasons driver lineup.While its disappointing that Josef will not be returning, its also not a total surprise after all of the speculation the past few weeks, Carpenter said. I wish Josef the best in his future endeavors, but also remain focused on ECRs continued success. We are positioned well moving into 2017 and I have total confidence that we will continue to deliver the high level of performance we expect as a team.Carpenter will continue to drive for his team on ovals.Newgarden won three races driving for Carpenter and finished a career-best fourth in the standings behind three Penske drivers. Andrej Sustr Jersey . General manager Jarmo Kekalainen told Aaron Portzline of The Columbus Dispatch on Friday that he wants to see Gaboriks contributions go beyond the scoresheet before considering a long-term deal for the sn-to-be unrestricted free agent. Ryan Callahan Jersey . LOUIS -- Attorneys for the St. http://www.cheaplightningjerseyschina.com/ . The Islanders dealt Thomas Vanek to the Montreal Canadiens after less than a year on Long Island. Meanwhile, the Oilers dealt long-time sniper Ales hemsky to the Ottawa Senators on Wednesday for a fifth-round pick in 2014 and a third-rounder in 2015. Alex Killorn Jersey . -- Jimmie Johnson held off a teammate, passed a pair of Hall of Famers, and dominated once more at Dover. Victor Hedman Jersey .Y. - New Orleans forward Anthony Davis was chosen Friday to replace the injured Kobe Bryant in the NBA All-Star game that will be played in his home city. HOUSTON -- The Houston Astros hit the ball so hard Wednesday night that some players wished they had something to protect their ears in the dugout from the sound of smack after home run smack. The Astros put on an impressive display of power, hitting six home runs to get their seventh win in eight games with a 11-7 victory over the Baltimore Orioles. Jason Castro, Carlos Pena and J.D. Martinez each had two-run homers, and Jose Altuve, Matt Dominguez and Marwin Gonzalez added solo shots as the Astros came one home run shy of a single-game franchise record for home runs. "I think everybody hit the ball hard tonight," Martinez said. "You felt like you needed headphones or ear plugs in the dugout because everybody was hitting the ball hard." The Astros tagged Freddy Garcia (2-3) for four homers, then reached reliever Steve Johnson for two in the fourth inning. Its the most home runs the Astros have had in a game since also hitting six on Aug. 9, 2006 against Pittsburgh. The record of seven long balls came in 2000. It is the second time theyve had six different players hit homers in a game and the first since that record-setting game in 2000. The game extended a streak of eight straight with a home run for the Astros, who have hit 15 in that span. Pena, one of the only veterans on this team which is the youngest in the American League, said its fun to see the team start to play well. "Its a blast," he said. "We all pull for each other. We have a pretty gd group. I think we all get along very well and we genuinely pull for each other, so when someone else has success its like everyone is just enjoying it." About the only disappointment for Houston was that every player didnt get a homer. "We kept talking about it," Martinez said. "All we needed was three more, and the whole lineup would have hit a home run." Houston starter Dallas Keuchel (3-2) yielded five hits and a run with three strikeouts in six innings. Garcia allowed seven hits and a season-high six runs, and the four homers tied a career high in three-plus innings, his shortest start of the season. Garcia had allowed just seven homers this season before Wednesday, and pitched eight scoreless innings in his last start. "He didnt have his split," manager Buck Showalter said. "All of the things he had working for him last time, h